FFA’s Head of Commercial, Digital and Marketing, Luke Bould, said that last night’s event was an overwhelming success for the fledgling competition.

“The standard of play was world class with many great goals, comebacks from seemingly unwinnable positions and edge of your seat moments,” said Bould.

“The number of viewers and amount of engagement during the opening round of the E-League definitely exceeded our expectations.

“To have at least 1,620,000 social media impressions across our main platforms is something that was very pleasing.

“We have learned much from the experience of the opening round and we will be looking to continually improve the viewer experience and engagement throughout the E-League season,” concluded Bould.

One of the Brisbane Roar’s competitors, James “iCripsy” Williams, was thrilled to be part of the opening match, and also had the honour of scoring the opening goal of the competition.

“A lot of the FIFA community in particular here in Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) don’t necessarily believe the Hyundai A-League is an option in terms of viewing or even attending a match at times, staying up at all hours of the evening to watch football from around the world is more appealing,” said Williams.

“I believe that last night was just the beginning for the thousands of FIFA players around the country getting behind their local clubs and finally making the connection that there is another option locally.

“The E-League is a new and engaging way to get the next generation of football fans involved in even more ways than ever before,” concluded Williams.